MACOMB COUNTY — During his Dec. 7 State of the County address, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel touted the ongoing momentum that’s continually bringing new life into the area.He noted how the Make Macomb Your ...Read More

A Troy family returned to their second-floor Charter Square apartment, near Big Beaver and Livernois, at 8 p.m. Dec. 7 after going out to dinner to find their apartment on fire.Fire officials said a man had been cooking on ...Read More

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Clinton Township Clintondale boys basketball coach Rob Townsend makes it clear that he sees where his team could be at a disadvantage this season.“We have no size,” Townsend said. ...Read More

ROCHESTER — At the annual Rochester Adams coaches meeting, Jason Rapp had a very important announcement.The athletic director of the Highlanders was pleased to reveal that Al Must had won the title of Coach of the ...Read More

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — A new bench that sits on the playground of Cheyenne Elementary School is the product of a Dakota High School sophomore who recently earned Eagle Scout status.Alec DeMaria recently earned the ...Read More

TROY — Carole Halbrook, 74, of Sterling Heights, never thought she would find love again after she lost her husband, Albert Person, her high school sweetheart and childhood neighbor, who died suddenly during routine ...Read More

U-D women’s hoops back in action following championship season

Pictured are players from the University of Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team. Last season, the Titans won the Women’s Basketball Invitational tournament. (Photo courtesy of University of Detroit Mercy athletics)

Pictured are players from the University of Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team. Last season, the Titans won the Women’s Basketball Invitational tournament. (Photo courtesy of University of Detroit Mercy athletics)

Last season, the University of Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team accomplished something not many other programs can lay claim to — the Titans won their last game of the season.

After earning the No. 1 seed and home court throughout, UDM proceeded to win the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) tournament. It was the first time since 1981 the Titans had won a postseason tournament, and head coach Autumn Rademacher would like for that experience to continue to pay dividends as the program moves forward.

“We won the championship right here at Calihan Hall — pretty special,” said Rademacher. “It was amazing. For our girls, I think it was fantastic for them to see teams they’d never seen before, as well as play so deep into March. So I think anything less than that from here on out will be a complete disappointment. Very special to be recognized on the national level. You’re only three in the country that won their last game,” she said, referring to the WNIT and NCAA, “so it was a special feeling — just happy the girls were able to be a part of it.”

As pleased as she may have been to come away as the WBI champs, that isn’t the end of Rademacher’s postseason ambitions. As a senior, she was a part of the only women’s basketball team in program history to make it to the NCAA tournament, and now that she is at the coaching helm, she would like for her players to have that same opportunity.

“That is our goal — get to the NCAA tournament,” she said. “I talk about it for them. I said, ‘Listen, I’ve already went as a player. I went as a coach at Western Michigan. I went as a coach couple times at Green Bay.’ You want it for them. You want them to be able to sit in the Titan Club with all their family and friends, and wait for that selection show to come on. If you’re a competitor, if you’re a Division I athlete, there’s really nothing like that moment in time. You love your kids so much, and you just want them to experience that at least once in their life.”

Making it as far as the NCAA tournament is something freshman Haleigh Ristovski (Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett) has given some thought to.

“Try and win a league championship, then try and get to the NCAA tournament,” she said. “That’s kind of my main goal, and I’m doing whatever I can to help the team in any way I can.”

If the Titans (3-10, at press time) want to make it to the NCAA tournament, Oakland University is one of the teams they may have to beat to do it, as the Golden Grizzlies are in their debut season in the Horizon League.

“It’s a great thing for us, economically,” Rademacher said. “They’re right here — more fans. I imagine once we go that first four minutes against them, that rivalry will be born. I am excited, because women’s basketball does struggle with attendance, and I think those will both be — here at Detroit and at Oakland — a well-attended game.”

Senior leadership can be a bonus for a team trying to make its way into the postseason, and Rademacher offered her thoughts on contributions the Titans have gotten from Megan Hatter (Howell) and Senee Shearer (Pershing).

“Those two seniors have been doing a whale of a job,” she said. “Great role models and examples. Those two kids — both ends of the floor — have been great.”

If the Titans are going to make another successful run, they are going to have to do so without the services of Rosanna Reynolds (Divine Child), as the Titans’ guard is out for the season with an injury. UDM was also trying to make due without another one of its guards, as Tayelor McCalister (Firestone) missed some court time due to an injury.

Rademacher said, “It’s a real blessing for her to be back on the court,” but the Titans have had “different kids in different roles” due to injuries. And although UDM hasn’t necessarily always been able to play the style Rademacher would prefer, aside from expressing appreciation for the effort she has gotten from her current group of players, she has also given some thought as to what the future of Titans’ basketball could look like.

“I really am happy,” she said. “We signed four kids in the early signing period. They’re all athletic; they’re all competitive; they all can score. Those four kids coming in next year, they will be a part of that program, which is getting up and down, being able to play full court, pressure, fast-break — all those kinds of things. That’s where the future of the program is going, but right now, our kids are doing a really good job in the system we have.

“They are all good kids, and they work really hard. They’re eager, they do what they’re told, they’re on time, they’re doing great in the classroom — I have no issues.”

The Titans are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 in a home game against Cleveland State.

About the author

Mark Vest is on the sports beat at C&G Newspapers. He covers high school sports for the Fraser-Clinton Chronicle and Grosse Pointe Times. In the past couple years or so, he has also began to cover collegiate sports for schools such as the University of Detroit Mercy, Oakland University, Wayne State University, Macomb Community College and Oakland Community College. Vest has worked at C&G Newspapers since 2011 and attended Oakland University and Oakland Community College.